Hotel energy rating system using dynamic zone EUI method in Taiwan

Abstract

This study seeks to develop a predictive method for hotel energy consumption and an energy rating system for existing hotels based on utility bills. It forms part of T-BERS (Taiwan’s Building Energy Rating System) currently being developed by the Architecture and Building Research Institute. T-BERS adopts the dynamic zone EUI (energy use intensity) method and a right-skewed EUI distribution and references the 7-class rating of EP Label used in the EU for public buildings. Rather than using a EUI for an entire hotel building as the rating index, the dynamic zone EUI method takes “dynamic” EUI indices calculated accumulatively from corresponding EUIs for 10 energy zones in a hotel. Thus, a customized EUI rating scale may be established to tailor to the unique scale and spatial composition of each hotel, thereby ensuring a fair assessment. The minimum, median and maximum EUI values for the 10 energy zones are set based on benchmark models simulated with eQUEST. The median EUI value is set based on the minimum criteria in the latest building code, and the maximum and minimum values based on the worst and best conditions in existing hotels in the market. The scoring model is compared and validated against the distribution of actual EUIs for 89 hotels measured by Taiwan's Bureau of Energy. It is shown to be aligned with real distributions of EUIs in the hotel building market and comply with the requirements of scale sensitivity and scale reliability. A modification for energy assessment predicating on utility bills has also been proposed herein. Using yearly occupancy rate YOR as a modifying factor, a hotel with irregular operations can now receive more customized, fair and rational assessment.